Maoz

Venue: Maoz - 43 Old Compton Street

Food: Falafel pitta with humous, feta and salad

Cost: £5.20

Rating: 76%

www.maozusa.com/

A slightly controversial start. I was given a recommendation from a colleague (SO) to try Maoz, “an international, quick service vegetarian restaurant chain” with a London branch located on Old Compton Street.  

Firstly, let me say that I am certainly not a vegetarian and I recognise that this choice for my first review may raise some eyebrows and turn you against me forevermore. But let’s get past this – my mother is a veggie (except for bacon...and a bit of chicken or duck occasionally) so I am partial to a meal sans viande.

So to the review. Checked out the website, pretty impressive (honestly -www.maozusa.com) and turns out it is originally founded in the good ol’ US of A. I headed down with AK and found it surprisingly deserted, but I had merely timed it right and the queue built up quickly behind me.

The vibe is wholemeal pitta filled with Falafel balls and a whole multitude of other ingredients and unlimited salad.  I stress unlimited. Going for the Maoz Royal, I loaded the pitta with humous, feta cheese, tomato, cucumber, couscous and fresh coriander. Efficient if basic service, the turnaround was no more than 2 minutes (not including the time it took me to mull over how far I wanted to take the word unlimited on the salad front).

The end product was very satisfying. Five Falafel balls was certainly not stingy and there was an added pleasure in helping to create the finished article. I was charged the reasonable fee of £5.20, which for a soho wrap/pitta is fairly standard. Filling, yet definitely not stodgy. I also made the right call on the humous and feta cheese front, adding some essential moisture.

Most importantly the post-lunch malaise that is so often the downside to a hearty lunch never materialised. Vegetarians must without doubt be more productive than carnivores in the hour after lunch!

Scores:

Taste 8

Portion size 9

Service 5

Speed 8

Originality 8

Choice 7

Workability 10

Office response 7

Value for money 6

Brand 8

Overall: 76%